We’re spending the month of January in beautiful Lemessos/Limassol, Cyprus. But first things first: if you have been following along, you may be wondering how our trip to the airport in Istanbul went. And the answer is, surprisingly well – we’d half-expected bad things to happen, but they didn’t. We had to wake up our taxi driver, who was napping at the taxi stand, but after that, even with a tight connection, everything was easy and pleasant, including our arrival in the small Lemessos airport.
Sitting Room/Living Room
The flat is not big, but it’s got all kinds of useful stuff in it, and is decorated in soothing, beachy blues and grays. Which is not accidental, as we are about two blocks from the Lemessos beach. The reason we picked this flat is for its long balcony, extending from sitting room to bedroom, with a view of the water. This is everything we dreamed of; we’re already revising downward all of the things we thought we might do here, in favour of sitting out looking at the water and drinking wine.
Bedroom
There’s a useful closet, full-sized dresser, two nightstands, and bedside lamps. Full marks! The bed is lower than we’re used to, and the mattress is firm. Also, did we mention there’s a balcony, and we can see the Mediterranean Sea from our bed?
Bathroom and Kitchen
The bathroom is very modern, as you can see, with a window in the shower. That feels like a luxury, because bathrooms can easily get damp. The shower itself is a bit low on water pressure, but so far that is the only thing we do not love about the place! Laurel lived in Athens thirty years ago and remembers having to turn on the hot water before taking a shower. That is true now in Cyprus, and baffles us. Also, thirty years ago then and there and still here and now, one cannot put toilet paper into the toilet. Neither matters very much, but both seem a bit unusual for a place that is otherwise so very western European (more on first impressions soon!).
The kitchen is small but functional (also with a window); it’s got what feels like an enormous array of pots and implements, and even butter knives (which our last flat did not). Plus a good cutting board, sharp knives, a Nespresso coffee maker, a toaster, a microwave, and a teapot. Fancy stuff! There are some plastic storage containers, which rental flats almost never have. First-day minestrone was a joy to make, and we think we’ll be doing a lot of cooking here! There is a washing machine (which we always make sure we have) and no dishwasher (which we don’t care about so much).
